Holster



Oct. 2, 1956 B. w. BRowNlNG 2,765,107

HOLSTER Filed Aug. 27, 1954 INVEN TOR. BRL/0E W BROWN/NG AT ORNEYSHOLSTER Bruce W. Browning, Ogden, Utah, assignor to Browning Industries,Inc., Ogden, Utah, a corporation of Utah Application August 27, 1954,Serial No. 452,502

4 Claims. (Cl. 224-2) The present invention relates to a holster forpistols.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a holster whichaffords an effective and convenient means of carrying a pistol and whichholds the pistol securely against dislodgment by bumping or jarring oractive movement of the wearer and yet enables it to be quickly andeasily disengaged and removed from the holster for use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holster of light weightand compact size, which takes up substantially no space additional tothat required for the pistol itself.

Another object is to provide a holster of the character described whichis simple and rugged in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, andconvenient and easy to put on and take off.

Other objects will be in part obvious, and in part pointed out more indetail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement ot parts which will be exempliedin the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the applicationof which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an elevation view of a holster constructed in accordancewith the present invention, showing the manner in which it engages apistol carried thereby;

Figure 2 is a front elevation view of the structure shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective View of the holster;

Figure 4 is a View of a portion of the structure shown in Figure 3illustrating certain features thereof; and

Figure 5 is a bottom View of the holster illustrating certain featuresthereof.

Referring to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of a holsterconstructed in accordance with the invention includes a frame 1 which isadapted to be worn on a belt 2 or similar support.

In accordance with the invention, the holster is arranged to support apistol in an exposed condition, with the handle completely free andaccessible, so that it can be grasped readily and with a minimum offumbling. To this end the holster engages the pistol at only two points,its muzzle and its trigger guard, as will now be described. The frame 1includes an elongated upright body 3 having at its lower end anoutwardly extending foot or shelf 14 on which is secured an upright pin16. The upper end of pin 16 is chamfered and the pin is the properdiameter to iit smoothly within the muzzle end of the pistol barrel, asshown in Figures 1 and 2 and support it against lateral movement, eitheroutwardly or sideways. On the pin 16 is a compression spring 18 whichengages the muzzle end of the pistol, supporting it resiliently andbiasing the pistol in an upward direction. The lower turn of spring 18is tightly wrapped around the pin 16 to secure the spring thereon.

At its upper end the body 3 is provided with an enlarged l nited StatesPatent 0 rice laterally extending head 19, which is thicker than body 3and overhangs the rearward side of the body, as shown in Figure 4.Outwardly extending from head 19, and somewhat laterally displacedrelative to shelf 14, is an arm 20 which is adapted to protrude throughthe opening between the trigger 22 and the trigger guard 24 of thepistol. The arm 20 has a downwardly facing notch 26 which hooks intoengagement with the trigger guard 24 and effectively secures the pistolagainst displacement in an outward direction. The arm 20 is laterallydisplaced relative to the shelf 14 so that, when secured in the holster,a pistol will be disposed with its barrel substantially vertical, asshown in Figure 1. The upward bias of the spring 18 on the pistolmaintains the trigger guard firmly bottomed in the notch and thusinsures that the pistol will not inadvertently become dislodged from theholster. The under side 30 of the arm and the bottom of the notch aresomewhat curved, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4, to complement thecurvature of the inside of the trigger guard 24, and the sides 32, 34 ofnotch 26 are inclined slightly inwardly and rearwardly so as to supportthe pistol inconspicuously with its handle flat against the hip of thewearer. The holster is supported from the wearers belt 2 by a verticallyextending relatively wide strap 36 of resilient metal or the like whichis folded back upon itself at its upper end to form a relatively rigidloop 38 through which the belt 2 may be threaded. The looped portion ofthe strap 36 is slidably received in a vertical slot 40 provided in theportion of head 19 which overhangs the rearward side of body 3. Thestrap 36 may thus be slid upwardly to enlarge the opening of the loop 38and permit easier threading of the wearers belt through it, and may thenbe slid down in the slot 40 to decrease the vertical dimension of theloop as well as squeeze the sides of the loop together and thus cinchthe holster tightly on the wearers belt.

One end of the strap 36 is extended to form a tang 4.4 provided with alip 46 at its lower end which resilienly engages a row of ratchet teeth48 on the rearward side of the body 3. The ratchet teeth 4S are slightlydownwardly inclined, as best shown in Figure 3, so that the lip 46 camsover them easily when the strap 36 is slid downward during tightening ofthe loop 38 on the wearers belt. However, to loosen the strap 36 fromthe belt 2, the tang 44 must be separated from body 3 to disengage thelip 46 from the teeth 48. The lower end oi' tang 44 is provided withforwardly bent ears 50, 52 which afford a convenient finger grip whendisengaging the lip 46 from ratchet teeth 48.

A pistol is placed in the holster simply by slipping the muzzle over thepin 16 to compress the spring, swinging the handle in to slip thetrigger guard around the arm 2i) and beneath the notch 26, and releasingthe handle. Spring 18 insures that the trigger guard 24 will be securelyseated in the notch 26, and thus the pistol is eiectively secured in theholster quickly and easily.

The engagement of the holster with the pistol is rm and secure, the pin16 preventing any movement of the barrel outwards or sideways, and theengagement of the trigger guard in the notch 26 preventing any likemovement of the upper portion of the pistol. Thus, though supporting thepistol with its handle entirely exposed for easy grasping when desired,the holster firmly holds the pistol against dislodgment by bumping,jarring, or physical activity, and the wearer need not restrain hisactivity for fear of the pistol falling out of the holster.

It may be seen that when carried in the holster the pistol is ready foruse practically instantaneously, since it is merely necessary whendrawing the pistol to press down and out on the handle to compressspring 18 and disengage the trigger guard from the notch 26, and thenlift the pistol clear of the holster.

As many changes could be made struction and many apparently widelydifferent embodiments of this invention could be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in thejaccompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the followingclaims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features ofthe invention herein described and all statements of the scope of theinvention which, as a matter of language, might be said to falltherebetween.

I claim:

1.k A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body,a laterally extending head on said body having a vertical slot therein,a strap having an upwardly extending loop portion adapted to be threadedby a belt or the like to support the holster, the lower end ot said loopportion being slidable in said slot to permit tightening of said strapon a belt, a vertically extending row of ratchet teeth on the rearwardside of said body and a lip on one end of said strap resilientlyengageable therewith to secure said strap loop portion in verticallyadjusted position, a forwardly extending shelf on said body carrying anupright pin over which the muzzle end of the pistol barrel is adapted tobe slipped, a forwardly' extending arm on said head laterally displacedrelative to said pin and adapted to protrude through the trigger guardof the pistol, said arm having a downwardly facing notch into which thetrigger guard is adapted to be received, and a compression spring onsaid pin engageable with the muzzle of the pistol to support the pistolresiliently and maintain the trigger guard seated in said notch.

2. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright body,a foot on said body having means for engaging and supporting the forwardend of a pistol barrel, a head on said body having a forwardly extendingarm adapted to engage the trigger guard of a pistol, a rearwardlyextending portion on said head overhanging the rearward side of saidbody and having a vertical slot, a strap having an upwardly extendingloop portion adapted tobe threaded by a belt or the like to support theholster, the lower end of said loop portion 4 being slidable in saidslot to permit tightening of said strap on a belt, a verticallyextending row of ratchet in the above conteeth on the rearward side ofsaid body and a lip on one end of said strap resiliently engageabletherewith to secure said strap loop portion in vertically adjustedposition.

3. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright bodyhaving a front face and provided at its upper end with a xed armextending outwardly in space beyond the front face of said body, saidarm adapted to project through the trigger guard of a pistol and havinga downwardly facing hook portion adapted to engage the inside of thetrigger guard and overlie the edges of the engaged portion of thetrigger guard, a shelf on said body below said arm and extendingoutwardly in space beyond the front face of said body, a support on saidshelf with which the muzzle of the pistol is adapted to engage toprevent lateral and outward movement of the pistol muzzle, and resilientmeans associated with said support and engageable by the end of thepistol barrel to urge the pistol upwardly and maintain the pistoltrigger guard in engagement with said hook portion to prevent lateraland outward movement of the pistol.

4. A pistol holster comprising a frame having an elongate upright bodyhaving a front face a xed arm on the upper end of said body, said armextending outwardly in space beyond the front face of said body andadapted .to protnlde through the trigger guard of a pistol, said armhaving downwardly facing notch into which the trigger guard is adaptedto be received said notch adapted to overlie the edges of the receivedportion of the trigger guard to prevent lateral and outward movementthereof, a shelf on said body below said arm, said shelf extendingforwardly in space beyond the front face oi said body and beingdisplaced laterally of said arm, an upwardly extending pin on said footover which the muzzle end of the pistol barrel is adapted to be slipped,and a compression spring on said pin engageable with the end of thepistol barrel to support the pistol resiliently and maintain the triggerguard seated in said notch.

References Cited `in the le of this patent l UNITED STATES PATENTS1,166,781 Parrish Ian. 4, 1916 2,109,734 Preneta Mar. l, 1938 2,655,298Riley Oct. 13, 1952

